Forensic Analysis and E-Discovery Complexities in Cloud-Based Investigations
The corporate transition to the cloud continues to present significant, continually evolving challenges for discovery in disputes and investigations. The majority of enterprise data now reside in expansive cloud-based environments, and productivity platforms such as Microsoft 365 promise robust discovery and compliance features, alongside a continually evolving feature set. As a result, there has been a trend towards conducting cloud-first and cloud-only data collection and preservation — a departure from the traditional approach of broadly collecting data from custodian devices, removable media and on-premises server-based sources.
The State of Emerging Data 2023: An Overlapping Arrival and Departure
Emerging data sources passed a tipping point this year. It was an expected turn for experts watching the evolution of systems, applications, technology adoption and communication habits over the past several years. Some understood that this year would bring an arrival of a new data reality. Indeed expectations have been validated — 71% of CIOs from the world’s largest organizations now say that the explosion of data is beyond human ability to manage. Simply, traditional data norms have been replaced by a complex, vast, dynamic and constantly changing data universe.
Recommendations for How to Respond to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Evolving Enhancements to its Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies
On January 17, 2023, in furtherance of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) efforts to enlist corporations to help fight corporate criminality, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. (“Polite”) delivered remarks on revisions to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies. His remarks followed Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s September 15, 2022 memorandum (the “Monaco Memo”) that announced changes and enhancements to these policies that aimed to strengthen and clarify existing guidance. The updated policies set forth in the Monaco Memo and reinforced by Polite, continue DOJ’s efforts to, among other things, incentivize corporations to develop more robust compliance programs with sustainable compliance cultures to: (1) prevent misconduct from occurring; and (2) obtain favorable treatment from the DOJ in the event that the corporation engages in criminal conduct that becomes the subject of a DOJ criminal investigation, whether through voluntary disclosure or otherwise.
The Most Valuable, Vulnerable Commodity
The FTI Technology Digital Insights & Risk Management Study, a comprehensive report that examines the extent to which organizations are recognizing the high stakes of data and effectively managing digital risk, involved senior business leaders from various global geographies and industries, with over 90% being at the executive level with primary or final decision-making authority.
2023 Privacy and AI Governance Report
This report explores the state of AI governance in organizations and its overlap with privacy management. We focused on companies’ change processes when striving to use AI according to responsible AI principles such as privacy, accountability, robustness, security, explainability, fairness and human oversight. This study aims to report on different approaches to governing AI in general and to explore how these nascent governance efforts intersect with existing privacy governance approaches
The 2023 General Counsel Report
Risk is now at the center of every conversation in the modern legal department. Over four consecutive years of study in the annual General Counsel Report, in-house counsel have expressed how they’ve been required to evolve and reinvent their roles. Once seen only as risk mitigators, they have become strategic business partners and have taken on an array of new responsibilities across a widening risk landscape.
Five Resolutions for Intentional Legal Operations Improvements
In legal operations, the best laid plans often go awry. More than half of corporate legal departments are currently struggling to effectively implement business process improvements and/or manage their budgets as they work to reduce costs, accelerate service delivery and realize efficiencies. Despite their objectives to optimize across process, technology, vendor management, resource allocation and more, 53% either do not have or are still developing a defined roadmap and strategy. Against that backdrop, most expect that successfully realizing and solidifying their programs will persist as a leading challenge in the year ahead.
Privacy as a Lingua Franca?
Translating the increasing alignment and divergence in global data protection regulation.
Incorporating Data Analytics into a Company’s Antitrust Compliance Review, Monitoring, and Audit Program
Proactive compliance monitoring programs are becoming increasing important to mitigate the risks and fallout associated with rising regulatory enforcement. It’s important to note that these programs can be implemented without significant resources or investment in new tools. With the right planning and expertise, a company’s existing data and systems can be used to incorporate data analytics and communications monitoring into any compliance program.
Establishing Information Governance Best Practices for Microsoft 365 Deployments
Microsoft accounts for 92% of the content services market, with most organisations utilising services within Microsoft 365 and/or Microsoft Teams to enable productivity and efficient remote working. In 2020, Microsoft 365 users generated more than 30 billion collaboration minutes in a single day as people communicated, collaborated and created documents at accelerating speed. This pace of adoption and scale of use has made it difficult for many organisations to maintain consistent information governance (IG).
The State of Emerging Data 2022: Waking a Sleeping Giant
Compliance, legal and IT teams face a dynamic data universe that is generating an unprecedented and varied influx of risk. The increased use of cloud-based and collaboration tools is creating challenges across investigations, legal matters, governance and data protection. Adapting to this new landscape of emerging data sources will be paramount to mitigating risks and establishing new best practices.
The State of Blockchain Technology and Digital Assets in Financial Services: An Escalating Industry Disruption
Blockchain technology and the digital asset class, including cryptocurrencies, have experienced a rapid and accelerating evolution. Overall, the number of companies bringing services to market to support real-world blockchain and cryptocurrency applications through payments, loans, custody, investment and clearance and settlement is on a steady uptick, illustrating the technology’s momentum among financial institutions looking to establish an early position in the industry while awaiting regulatory clarity.
The General Counsel Report 2022
Previous General Counsel studies revealed that the trials from the past two years were critical in preparing legal teams with the endurance needed to face a myriad of emerging expectations and challenges. In this year’s GC Report, we explore three critical areas that will soon dominate time and resources: risk, culture and technology.
Law Department Operations Technology Survey: The Journey to Modernization
The pandemic has impacted us all in many ways. For some, it has meant pausing, reassessing priorities and charting a course for the future. The same can be said of businesses, and the legal departments within. To better understand the changes sought by law departments to increase efficiency through technology, FTI Consulting partnered with the Blickstein Group to conduct a study analyzing the road to technology modernization.
Technology Assisted Review for Corporate Legal: Applying Analytics in Everyday E-discovery
In a world where technology, AI and automation have penetrated nearly every facet of day-today life, it’s easy to take technological advancement for granted. Easy to assume that it has been embraced as intuitive, across all industries and business processes, to optimize efficiency and replace cumbersome manual work. In the legal field though, reality has not quite caught up to expectation. Despite significant advancements in legal technology, widespread judicial approval of machine-powered processes and a mass of proven benefits, advanced analytics and technology-assisted review (TAR) are still regarded by many lawyers as complex.
E-book - Taking Aim at Enterprise Data Governance
Hitting the bullseye in modern data governance starts with a clear view of an organization’s challenges, roles and data objectives in the context of the ever-evolving data landscape. This e-book provides a framework for defining modern data governance, understanding key players and achieving (or refreshing) programs that meets the needs of every stakeholder. It will include FTI Technology’s unique perspective of how combining data governance with broader information governance (IG) and strategic analytics can support robust compliance, data protection, business insights and more.
GCR Survey Report: Investigations, Data and Compliance
The pandemic and its ripple effects have impacted us all in many ways, including how we work. Suddenly, millions of workers worldwide made the shift to remote work - adopting new schedules, communication systems, and business practices. Antitrust practitioners were no different.
Data Security in Texas: The Lone Star in Privacy Compliance?
Are companies in Texas leading the way when it comes to their approach to data security? This new report based on a survey done by ALM Media and FTI Consulting explores the approaches Texas companies employed to challenges faced by virtual workplaces and evolving privacy regulations.
In-House Legal Technology Modernization: Considerations and Best Practices
A practical guide for modernizing legal operations and optimizing investments across people, process and technology, to ultimately do more with less.
M&A in Canada 2021: Navigating Data Challenges and Competition Control
For legal professionals focused on Canada related merger and acquisitions, the latest data trends and updated guidance from the Competition Bureau must be well understood to better navigate the current climate.
Corporate Investigations X-Factors
Examining the evolving landscape and emerging methods in responding to regulatory inquiries and fraud investigations
Effective Strategies to Manage Global Data Challenges
At the recent PrivSec Global event, Nina Bryant and Kajen Subramoney, Managing Directors within FTI Consulting’s Technology segment in EMEA, participated in a panel with other data privacy experts to discuss the current global landscape of data challenges.
The IAPP-FTI Consulting Annual Privacy Governance Report 2020
The IAPP-FTI Consulting Privacy Governance Report is the primary annual study benchmarking the privacy profession. Now in its sixth year, the report takes a deep dive into the leadership structures, core functions, staff and budgets, and tasks and priorities of privacy programs around the globe. It provides key metrics on ongoing compliance with core pieces of privacy legislation and the effects of recent legal rulings and guidance from data protection authorities on processing operations.
The General Counsel Report 2021
Learn how major events impacted the role of general counsel and how the learnings from 2020 can be applied to effectively navigate 2021. The report features candid responses from over 30 surveyed general counsel.
IT’s Role in Supporting Global Privacy Compliance
While privacy programs are typically driven by stakeholders in legal and compliance, the requirements, resources, policies, processes and technologies involved with data privacy compliance often cross over with Information Technology (IT). Existing and emerging data privacy and data protection regulations also introduce a new set of considerations for IT teams to address when sourcing, deploying, managing or sunsetting systems and working with third-party providers.
As LIBOR Sunsets, Contract Intelligence Takes Center Stage
What happens when “the most important number in finance” is eliminated? With the impending retirement of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), financial institutions around the world are now faced with that question.
E-discovery in 2020: The Sudden Shift in Our Data Footprint
The pandemic has impacted us all in many ways, personally and professionally. Like any major event, the impact of the pandemic and its ripple effects will be studied for many years to come. This holds true for e-discovery. In this FTI Report we examine the impact of rapid change in our discoverable data make-up. We take a close-up view of what it means for legal teams---how to adapt, adjust and take action as analyzing rich media as well as fragmented chat strings become key to e-discovery and investigation efficacy.
Future-Proofing Corporate Data Privacy: Budgeting and Solutions to Address Tomorrow's Compliance Challenges
FTI Consulting surveyed over 500 corporate data privacy leaders to understand the solutions, strategies and budgets companies have planned to address data privacy challenges in the coming year. This survey report illustrates how organizations are balancing the costs and risks of managing data in an ever-changing data privacy landscape; the importance of implementing a strategic combination of people, process and technology to mitigate data privacy risk; and the status of future plans in light of today’s uncertainties.
Five Steps To E-Discovery Workforce Continuity in Our New Normal
At FTI, we have adapted our e-discovery offerings to adhere to pandemic-related stay-at-home orders and distancing policies. In this guide, we share the steps we have taken to maintain continuity with the hope you can apply them to your own organization and teams.
Limping to the GDPR Finish Line - Why Many Companies Still Aren’t Fully Compliant
To date, GDPR compliance at most organizations has been approached from the top down. Policies and procedures are essential. However, now that most organizations have those in place, it is time to begin revisiting GDPR programs from the bottom up — starting with the systems where data lives, to ensure cohesive alignment between the existing privacy policies, business requirements, and the IT systems and infrastructure.
Corporate Data Privacy Today; A Look at the Current State of Readiness, Perception and Compliance
FTI Consulting recently conducted a survey of more than 500 data privacy leaders of large, U.S.-based companies. The results illustrate the state of data privacy in today’s corporations, giving insight into the programs, perceptions and strategies at play.
Case Narratives and The Next Generation of Discovery
As e-discovery technology advances, expert teams are utilizing new processes to improve on the existing workflows and to drive greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness in factual case strategy development. In turn, attorneys that partner with researchers will serve their clients better, faster and more cost effectively during this critical phase of litigations and investigations. This will lead to improved client satisfaction and allow attorneys to maintain their positions as trusted advisors, all while continuing to deliver consistency and quality.
Committing To Data Privacy Compliance: The California Consumer Privacy Act And Steps To Prepare
California’s new data privacy law, The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), is ushering in a new era of consumer privacy protections in the U.S. The law takes effect January 1, 2020, and will provide broad privacy protections for California residents. To ensure regulatory readiness, organizations must prepare for the impact the law will bring to their business, understand obligations and take steps to modify processes accordingly
The General Counsel Report: Corporate Legal Departments in 2020
FTI Technology and Relativity partnered with Ari Kaplan Advisors to survey chief legal officers about the future of the legal industry and the skills and expertise needed for the next generation of lawyers. The results of these interviews clearly indicate an industry in transition across four key areas: the evolving role of in-house counsel, risk factors and how the modern legal department is addressing them, technology and innovation in law, and advice that general counsel have for their law firms and for future lawyers.
Merger Clearance Investigations - Increased Rigor and Emphasis on Internal Documents
Historically, when two companies have proposed a merger or acquisition, European competition authorities evaluated various economic and market analyses to determine whether the transaction would establish too dominant of a position for the companies in any given market. Now, regulators, particularly DG Comp and competition agencies in the UK, Germany and France, are increasingly interested in the review of contemporaneous internal documents.
The State of E-discovery 2019
This year’s State of E-discovery report pulls from the latest economic, case law, and professional e-discovery and legal industries to paint a picture of an industry at an inflection point. With the information contained in it, you can make the strategic decisions you need to ensure you stay ahead of the e-discovery curve.
Form Follows Function: Negotiating the Second Request Process with Government Regulators
There may be no process in the entire legal business fraught with more urgency than an HSR Second Request. Legal teams are expected to process, review and produce a large quantity of documents in only a few months. Failure to properly comply can result in significant delays. Because of this, there is an enormous temptation to begin the review the moment a Second Request is announced. This temptation, however, must be resisted until some key "gating factors" are negotiated with the government.
Revolutionising the Monitoring of Culture and Misconduct Risks and Related Investigations
Intelligent use of modern techniques such as machine learning and predictive technologies enable risk and compliance functions to respond to today’s escalating expectations
Tracing Crime on the Dark Web
Given its lawlessness, complexity and lack of transparency, monitoring the Dark Web requires expertise and experience. It is often difficult for organisations due to a lack of highly skilled resources and skillset they typically have available. Instead, companies would be better served by working closely with a technology provider who can provide the relevant support along with assistance in closely monitoring the Dark Web for relevant data using specialist tools and techniques.
Spear Phishing: Carefully Targeted, Extremely Damaging and Fast Increasing
As spear phishing becomes sophisticated and widespread it’s essential that organisations take a multi-layered approach to protecting themselves. This means buying in expertise in staff training, cyber security and monitoring from an external source that specialises in this growing risk.
The State of Information Governance
Bloomberg Quick Pulse 2018 Survey Report
GDPR Breach Crisis: Are You Prepared?
The GDPR compliance deadline might have passed but over two-thirds of UK firms acknowledge they are at risk of a GDPR breach crisis. While data mapping and updating privacy policies are an important aspect of GDPR preparedness, many companies will struggle to respond to GDPR breaches and incidents.
Advice from Counsel: State of the Union on Data Privacy & Security
The 12th Advice from Counsel study explores how issues of data security and privacy impact in-house legal teams at Fortune 1000 corporations and reveals the top concerns and emerging best practices across three key and intersecting topics: the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), IG and data security and remediation.
GDPR Countdown - May 2018: The Starting Point, Not the Finish Line
Companies around the globe are impacted by the landmark EU legislation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into force on May 25, 2018. While there is tremendous focus on the steep fines, the risks associated with reputational damage due to the inappropriate management of personal data is much greater.
Using Information Governance Tactics to Prepare for the GDPR
Much like Information Governance, preparation for the General Data Protection Regulation is a cross-departmental concern that requires input from many different groups within an organization, including privacy, compliance, legal, line of business, IT and information security.
The Lawyer - Global Litigation 50 Report, 2017
Technology is revolutionising the way lawyers practice their trade. To deliver the greatest value to their clients, legal professionals must know about the latest technological solutions.
92 Reasons to Delete Data
Data storage has never been cheaper. But the downstream costs – data discovery, legal review and data breaches, to name just a few – have never been higher. If you don’t yet have a data remediation policy, this collection of stats, facts and references provides 92 reasons to start planning for one.
Tackling Data Security Risks
We asked 33 in-house compliance leaders: How can organizations create an information governance framework that protects data while staying adaptive to the rapidly evolving business landscape?
Transforming Risk: Shifting from Reactive to Proactive
With many organisations struggling to deal with the rapid explosion of data, coupled with increasingly aggressive regulatory enforcement, how should they drive change in information governance?
Transforming Risk with Better Information Governance
As regulated companies are required to manage ever growing amounts of data, and regulators are imposing increasingly severe fines, how can firms ensure they comply with this greater scrutiny?
Quick Wins in Information Governance
From protecting sensitive customer data from cyber threats to complying with data protection laws, corporate information governance efforts are quickly becoming “must do” projects. In this paper, Sonia Cheng gives her top 5 pragmatic and proactive tips to help in-house legal teams achieve quick wins for information governance projects.
Evaluating the Opportunities Presented by Analytics and Visualization in Legal Review
Analytics are changing the game in e-discovery. Written by Blue Hill Research analyst David Houlihan, this report compiles feedback from corporate legal departments, law firms and service providers on best practices for using analytics to reduce costs.
A Method to the Data Madness
As employees migrate to an ever-increasing number of apps, how can legal teams ensure that this data is picked up as part of the usual e-discovery process?
How Predictive Coding is Changing the Legal Landscape
The first formal judicial endorsement of the use of predictive coding in e-disclosure in the UK came from Master Matthews in his High Court ruling in the Pyrrho Investments v MWB Property Ltd case. In this paper, we look at the landmark decision and how it is likely to impact e-disclosure costs and proportionality arguments in UK courts, and increase the willingness of legal teams to use predictive coding in document reviews as part of a wide range of disputes and investigations.
The State of Information Governance in Corporations
For this Advice from Counsel study, we interviewed in-house counsel to better understand the health and success of information governance programs within corporations. The results clearly show that with a few exceptions, most organizations are in the early stages of information governance adoption. Yet these executives have strong advice on how best to begin and implement an IG initiative. From these results, organizations can better under¬stand how their peers are successfully keeping an eye on the big picture while executing quick wins that help build momentum for broader IG initiatives.
Identifying & Protecting the Corporate Crown Jewels
Every organization has a set of crown jewels—information that is critical, unique or irreplaceable. From the CEO’s emails to the board, to sensitive IP, organizations need to properly identify, categorize and secure these crown jewels. This paper is designed to provide a practical overview of how to secure your company’s crown jewels, from stakeholder involvement to developing repeatable processes and technical considerations.
Why Data Deletion Makes Sense (and Dollars)
Conventional wisdom says the cost of storing data is declining. That’s true. But the total cost to businesses to store data is rising unsustainably because they are collecting — and retaining — more data than ever before. The key to controlling costs and freeing up operating capital is deleting data you don’t need to store. How do you know what you don’t need? Two words: information governance.
Measuring Your E-discovery Program Against Industry, 2015
How does your e-discovery program measure against your peers? How does your team size, budget and technology adoption compare to other companies? Download the study now to learn best practices from Fortune 1000 e-discovery professionals on a range of topics, from data security to budget transparency and retention policies.
Mobile Devices, Data Collection and the Next E-discovery Front
Mobile devices are impacting corporations profoundly in ways both obvious and subtle. As in-house counsel, IT staff and the security department grapple with bring your own device (BYOD) policies, security issues and the massive proliferation of data generated by mobile devices, they may not be focusing as closely on litigation and investigational risks caused by mobile device data.
Metrics that Matter
What do Van Halen, M&Ms and metrics in e-discovery have to do with one another? More than you might think.
Advice from Counsel: 13 Ways Your E-discovery Manager Thinks You Can Reduce E-discovery Spending
What if you could ask 25 of the most experienced e-discovery managers from the Fortune 1000 for their advice on reducing e-discovery costs? That’s exactly what we did, and we’re sharing the results.
E-discovery in Asia – Best Practices for Handling the Legal, Regulatory, Cultural and Technical Challenges
Learn the key survey findings, areas of practical concern for multinational corporations and law firms, and expert perspectives on the evolving legal, technical and cultural landscape impacting e-discovery in the Asian region.
Advice from Counsel: The Emerging E-discovery Playbook
Fortune 1000 corporate counsel share advice about how corporations manage their e-discovery programs in this annual survey.
Think Green: How Multi-Matter Repositories, Done Right, Can Save Cost Through Litigation Lifecycles.
Learn about assessing whether a multi-matter repository could provide your company quantifiable cost savings and key considerations for developing a defensible multi-matter repository.
Advice from Fortune 1000 E-discovery Experts: Achieving & Maintaining E-discovery Fitness
Download this report to see new survey results from Fortune 1000 e-discovery experts and benchmark your e-discovery fitness against industry averages.
Discovery Shifts to the Cloud: Rewards and Perils for Your IT and Legal Teams
Adoption of Cloud computing continues to gain momentum, impacting every segment of the technology and legal worlds. Learn key e-discovery factors to consider as your organization transitions to the cloud and SaaS e-discovery offerings.
Can Predictive Coding Add Value to Your Case?
Landmark cases including Da Silva Moore have resulted in rulings favorable to predictive coding. But is this proven process right for your case, or will it add more problems than it solves? Download this white paper and use its 10 guidelines as a quick self-assessment.
Game Change: Reevaluating Collection Processes in the Wake of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network Ruling
Learn key considerations for implementing two main collection methodologies – physical collection vs. logical collection.
Advice from Counsel: Trends that Will Change E-discovery (and What to Do About Them Now)
Learn about where e-discovery is going, and what you can do today to better prepare for these changes.
Advice from Counsel - Can Predictive Coding Deliver on its Promise?
FTI Technology commissioned an interdisciplinary survey of law firm leaders and senior corporate counsel to identify key trends and perspectives on the emergence of predictive coding.
The Experts Weigh In: E-discovery Strategies for International Anti-bribery Investigations
Compare strategies for navigating the technological, legal, and cultural barriers of conducting an effective cross-border investigation.
Attorney Review in the Enterprise: Choosing Deployment Options
Download this white paper from the Enterprise Strategy Group, and better understand the key considerations for each legal review model.
Exchange Message Tracking Logs - Message Forensics
Microsoft’s LogParser utility, designed to monitor message flow for production and troubleshooting in an Exchange environment, may also be applied for conducting investigations of unacceptable communications.
E-discovery and Legal Frameworks Governing Privacy and Data Protection in European Countries | Part 2 - Country-Specific Profiles
For those involved with multinational e-discovery, Part 2 of the report includes an appendix of country-specific profiles for France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
E-discovery and Legal Frameworks Governing Privacy and Data Protection in European Countries | Part 1 - Implications
This 32-page practical review of data privacy requirements and processes that will help corporations and law firms legally collect, process, review and transfer data for litigation, regulatory requests or investigations.
The End of Piecemealing: Improving Upon All-in-One Document Review Offerings
This paper discusses the shortcomings of a piecemeal approach compared to an integrated approach, and how all-in-one offerings may still fall short. It explains the essential features of effective integrated approaches to e-discovery and document review, and lays out the specific features companies should consider in selecting an all-in-one, integrated document review provider.
The Problems of Keyword Search in E-discovery
Learn more about the difficulties working with keywords during a matter, the many challenges associated with relying on keyword search and the cost and risk associated with attempting to "guess” one's way to a relevant document.
The E-discovery Playbook
The E-Discovery Playbook shows you how to assemble the right team, develop a process and choose the right play for your winning case game plan.
